The ‘Big Deals’

by Xenia Makridou

It’s true that in our teenage years, we exaggerate a lot, we create problems that weren’t even there in the first place with our minds, and we generally get very easily affected by what’s going on around us. Naturally, you get the occasional “that’s not a problem” from the older person when you’re freaking out about a little thing. But then again, what is a problem? We all have different kinds of ‘problems’, and we all deal with them very differently.

It comes with the age. When you’re 17, you’re more likely to talk of a break-up, rather than a divorce. You’re almost expected to talk of your anxiety because of exams, and not of the prospect of losing your job in the near future, and the list can go on and on. While a divorce and unemployment are definitely more serious problems, with extremely negative effects – possibly long-term too – on the person who faces them and on society as a whole, the ‘teenage problems’ are also a source of tension and worry for the average teen.

We all have problems. And while some may be small and easily-addressed, others can be massive and we might find it very difficult to deal with them. What we consider a problem, for somebody else, it might only be a minor thing. Surely, there’s people out there with problems so much more important than ours, but truth is, whatever it might be, you always get affected. You might not even know it, actually. So, let’s just say you have a problem. Don’t try to console yourself by thinking that other people have worse problems than you. That’s even more depressing. Just face the problem – solve it. Because it’s your problem and only you know how important it is. Nobody has the right to judge the life you lead, anyway. Anything can be a ‘big deal’, depending on how much you make of it.